


The Good, The Bad, and The Kyle

by BesottedShoe



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Action, Angst, Canon-Typical Violence, F/F, Fluff and Angst, Multi, Multiple Narrators, Other, Post-Canon, Western
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-30
Updated: 2020-12-30
Packaged: 2021-03-11 02:26:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 11,476
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28437591
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BesottedShoe/pseuds/BesottedShoe
Summary: An edit and expansion of chapter 11 of my longfic, "She Ra: After the End".The Best Friend Squad answers a distress call from a settlement near the Crimson Waste. There, they encounter old friends and old enemies, who all present their own unique challenges.
Relationships: Adora/Catra (She-Ra), Kyle/Lonnie/Rogelio (She-Ra)
Kudos: 21





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [She-Ra: After the End](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26362807) by [BesottedShoe](https://archiveofourown.org/users/BesottedShoe/pseuds/BesottedShoe). 



> As mentioned in the summary, this is a repost of chapter 11 of my longfic. This version is standalone and features a good deal more content. I hope you enjoy!

#### Deputy Hergus

The Crimson Waste is no place for regular towns. If you want to survive, you have to be tough. The outskirts of the waste, however, are more forgiving. People have carved out lives in small settlements on the edges of the vast desert, mining, farming, and living. The going is tough, but they get by. 

The town of Mudd is one such settlement. The people are tough, and life is hard, but it’s a close knit community nonetheless, and they take care of their own. 

Deputy Hergus takes a few steps forward. One of the outlying farms reported something on the horizon, and she had rushed over. Her stun baton in hand, she creeps up to the nearby wall and peeks over. There’s definitely something coming. 

_Oh no. It’s them._

Approaching the farm is a collection of skiffs, both old Horde models and cobbled together. Emblazoned on the sails is the symbol of their gang: a snake wrapped around itself in a circle. 

_I need backup_. She reaches for her communicator, but finds a hand grabbing her wrist and a knife pressed against her throat. 

“I wouldn’t do that.” A husky voice threatens. Hergus fees the tip of a boot against hers, so she slams her heel on the enemy’s toes. “Ow!” They shout, and Hurgus extricates herself from their grasp, spinning around and pointing the baton at the figure. A horned goon with a white tank top and a knife. She grimaces and snarls at Hergus. 

“Stand down.” Hergus threatens, trying to be intimidating. The sound of the skiffs’ engines is growing closer behind her. 

“I got a better idea.” The horned goon responds, “You don’t touch that little communicator, and I don’t feed you to my boss.”

Hergus gulps. _He eats people?? No. She’s bluffing._ She steels herself. “I thought he only let people like him into his gang. Aren’t you a bit of an outsider?” 

The goon looks hurt for a moment, but shrugs. “Eh. Times change. And speaking of time,” The engine sounds are very close now, and the goon smirks evilly.

A new voice picks up behind Hergus, “You’re all out.” Hergus spins around to see the figure, a massively tall, broad chested figure, with a long serpentine tail and a snake’s head. He smiles, and swings his whip forward, snapping the baton out of Hergus’s hands. He swings again, wrapping Hergus in the whip and pulling her towards him. “Get the parts boys!” A series of other snake men leap the fence and rush towards the farm equipment. “And you,” he leans down to Hergus. “Go ahead and tell your little Marshal that Tung Lashor is in charge around here, and you best stay out of our way.” He grabs her and tosses her through the air. She slams against the nearby wall and crumples to the ground, watching helplessly as the bandits make off with the machinery they were after.


	2. A Town Called Mud

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Best Friend Squad Arrives to Mudd and meets some old friends.

#### Bow

“Remind me again why we’re going to the middle of nowhere?”

“Catra, you were at the mission briefing!” 

“Uh, yeah! That doesn’t mean I was paying attention.” 

“Why weren’t you paying attention?” 

“You’ve known me for how long and you’re _still_ asking that?”

From his position at the back of the skiff, Bow sighs, and cuts off the lesbians’ bickering with, “We got a distress call from a town on the edge of the Crimson Waste. It used an old Horde code, so Adora wanted to check it out.” 

Catra rolls her eyes, “Yeah, I got that part, but why _us_? Don’t we have lackeys we could send to do that?” 

There’s a pause as Bow and Adora look at each other. “That’s… not really how we do things.” Bow responds. 

Catra scoffs and plops onto her back on the skiff’s deck. Adora gives her a head pat before getting up and joining Bow back by the rudder. She spends some time looking around at the golden lights surrounding them; a byproduct of Melog cloaking the skiff, one can never be too careful when travelling around the Crimson Waste. 

“Why are we doing this ourselves?” Bow asks quietly. 

“I just figured it had been a while since we went on a mission like this!” Adora says, “I thought it would be fun. I’d hoped Glimmer could come too but…” She shrugs, and looks out over the horizon. Bow sighs sadly. With Glimmer’s responsibilities as Queen mounting, it’s nearly impossible for her to get out on adventures anymore. “Plus,” Adora adds, “I just… I have a feeling about this. I can’t explain it but I feel like it’s important somehow.” 

Bow puts a hand on her shoulder and smiles. “That’s good enough for me. You should sit down for a bit. We’ve got another two hours before we get there.”

#### Adora

Something’s wrong. They’ve arrived at the town, a little community up against a mountain on the edge of the Waste, but no one’s around. The buildings are shut and the windows are boarded up. Detritus litters the street. Adora scans around from beneath the brim of her sun hat, but sees no one, only a wooden sign saying “Welcome to Mudd. Population:” There is no number listing the town’s population, only a discolored spot on the sign. _That’s not ominous at all._

“Where is everyone?” Bow says quietly.

“Probably hiding,” Catra responds, “most of the skiffs they see are probably bandits or Horde scraps.”

Adora turns to Bow, “Stop the skiff.” Bow obliges, and the four dismount. Catra mutters something to Melog, who slinks away and vanishes.

 _Once they find out who we are, they’ll show themselves, right?_ Adora cups her hands around her mouth. “Hello!?” She shouts. It echoes through the dead air of the empty town. Catra ducks against a building and takes cover behind the stairs. “We’re here to help! You sent a distress call, we’re here to answer it!”

There’s the sound of something creaking, and a female voice shouts, “Hold it right there! Who are you?” 

Adora opens her mouth to answer, but a new voice comes out, this one male, high, cracky, and quite familiar. “Adora? Is that you?” 

_“Kyle?”_ Adora and Catra say in unison. 

A new figure steps out from one of the alleyways, tall, broad, green, and distinctly reptilian. He growls in Adora’s direction. 

“Rogelio?” Adora says, still stunned. Two building doors open, and a pair of figures step out. One is Kyle, still as scrawny and blonde as ever, though a bit more tanned. He and Rogelio are both wearing new outfits, a vague uniform made up of padded pants, a gray shirt, and a leather vest with a silver badge on it. 

Adora doesn’t recognize the other figure. She’s froglike in appearance, short, with large blue eyes and a wide mouth. “Are these… friends of yours?” She asks Kyle.

“Yeah!” Kyle exclaims. Rogelio growls something, and Kyle pauses, “Well… sort of.” 

The froglike woman turns, and points at Bow. “Wait a minute… I know you. You sent out that message, callin’ us all to fight.” Bow smiles and nods. The woman looks at Adora, “Who are you?” 

“My name is Adora, but… you’ve probably heard of me as She Ra.” 

The woman’s eyes predictably widen, “You’re She Ra?? _The_ She Ra?” 

Adora chuckles, “As far as I know.” 

“We gotta bring you to the marshal then, she’ll get you up to speed on everything! I’m Hergus, by the way.” 

Rogelio raises a hand and snarls something. Kyle seems to understand him ( _That’s new_ ), and says, “Yeah, why is it just the two of you?” 

“It’s not!” Bow responds, and Adora turns to look at the now empty space where Catra had been. 

Adora rolls her eyes, “You can come out, they’re friendly.” 

Catra’s voice rings out from the shadows, “I doubt they’ll keep that up if I come out.” 

Kyle raises an eyebrow, “Is that…” 

Catra emerges from the alleyway to his side and leans in to his ear. “Boo.” 

Kyle shrieks and leaps several feet away, stumbling back. Rogelio jumps in front of Catra and roars in anger. 

“Nice to see you too.” Catra responds drily. “We didn’t leave on the best of terms did we?” 

“Why is Catra here?” Kyle questions Adora and Bow. 

“She’s with us now.” Adora responds flatly, on edge at Rogelio’s aggressive posture. 

“She’s one of the good guys,” Bow adds, “Like you.” 

Kyle nods, “In that case, it’s good to see you Catra.” He walks over and extends a hand. Catra looks from hand, to Kyle’s face, to Rogelio, to Kyle, to hand before shaking it tentatively. 

“Yeah,” She says slowly, “It’s… good to see you too.” 

“So,” Bow pipes up, “Who’s the Marshal?” 

*****

Lonnie is the Marshal, of course. ( _She always had the best leadership instincts_ ). She’s in a small, metal and stone construction in the center of town with a sign that says “Sheriff’s Depot” outside. She herself is wearing a Horde Breastplate with a gold star painted over the Horde symbol, and an outfit similar to Kyle and Rogelio. She’s currently sitting behind a desk, looking up as the motley group enters. She raises a surprised eyebrow at Adora, and opens her mouth to speak, then snaps it shut when Catra enters. 

“Look,” Catra begins, “I know you hate me, and I’m not that big a fan of you either, but I’m here to help.” 

Lonnie simply glares at her for a minute before turning to Adora and Bow. “So. We asked for help from the princesses, and I assume that’s you.” Adora nods. “We got a problem.” She says, “A gang of bandits have been raiding the town recently. They’re not attacking in full force, just coming in, stealing some mechanical parts, and leaving.” 

“Parts?” Bow inquires, “What kind of parts?” 

“I dunno.” Lonnie shrugs, “Lot of random stuff, we haven’t been able to figure out any kind of connection, but the equipment can’t work without them, and without the equipment, we won’t survive for long.”

“Ha, equipment? What do you farm out here?” Catra quips.

“Water.” Lonnie responds, actually looking at Catra this time. “There are big wells of groundwater on the borders of the Crimson Waste. Farmers collect the water and use it for crops, or just trade it to other settlements. It’s like, the only good thing in the Crimson Waste. Didn’t they teach that in force captain orientation?” Catra blanches, and mutters something mutinous about said orientation. Lonnie scoffs and turns back to Adora and Bow, “We don’t have the numbers, or the firepower to drive ‘em off by ourselves. So next time they come, they’ll have quite the surprise on their hands to see you all. You drive them off, we pay you, and then you can go.” 

“No way.” Adora responds. “First of all, we won’t accept payment,” Catra tries to protest, but Adora keeps talking, “Second of all, we’re not just going to drive them off. We need a more concrete game plan.” 

“This gang,” Catra says, “Who’s the leader?” 

“We weren’t sure until a few nights ago.” Lonnie says, “That’s when he showed up in person.” 

Deputy Hergus speaks up. “He could have killed me, but he left me alive to send a message. Said that Tung Lashor is in charge here.” 

_Tung Lashor? What kind of name is that??_

Catra coughs, clearly caught off guard. “Wait, that guy’s alive?? More to the point, he’s leading a gang again??” 

“You know him?” Kyle says concernedly.

“Last time I was here I beat him up and took over his operation.” Catra says. “I humiliated him pretty bad. It’s honestly impressive he managed to salvage his reputation enough to lead another gang.” _So that’s how she got a gang. Figures._

Lonnie grimaces at Catra. “Yeah, we’re not really impressed. A few more visits from him and there’ll be nothing left of Mudd. Our _home_.”

Before Catra can respond, the sound of a bell ringing interrupts the conversation. 

“They’re here.” Hergus says in a small voice.


	3. First Fight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bandits arrive to the town of Mudd, and get more than they bargained for.

#### Catra

Getting in position took relatively little time. Adora is standing in the middle of the main road, looking towards the rapidly encroaching dust cloud that signals the raider’s approach. Bow took up roost in the bell tower. Kyle and Hergus are set up on some of the second story balconies along the main street, Horde batons at the ready. Catra and Rogelio are in opposing alleyways flanking Adora, and Lonnie has set up on the porch of the town’s saloon, sitting in a rocking chair, stun baton in her lap. Melog is beside Catra, their cloak of invisibility covering both of them. 

The lead skiff skids to a halt in front of Adora, sending the dust cloud floating into town. 

“Turn around and go back the way you came.” Adora calls out, her voice calm, but also authoritative and demanding. 

_Stars, she is just…_ Catra whistles silently. Melog bops her with a paw and mewls sternly. _Right, focus!_

The declaration is met with laughter from the gathered skiffs. There are five in total, with a difficult to count number of people, but Catra guesses about five or six per skiff. One figure jumps off the lead skiff, a tall, thin serpent woman with a wide hood about her neck and head. Her leather jacket has Tung Lashor’s symbol embossed on the breast. 

The snake woman walks up to Adora, looming over her a good deal. “Oh we intend to.” She murmurs, her voice low and almost sultry, “That’s right. We’ll take what we need, and then we’ll turn around and leave. No one has to get hurt,” She raises a slender hand and moves to touch Adora’s chin, “Least of all yo-”

Adora cuts her off by grabbing the offending hand and twisting it down. The snake hisses in pain and falls to one knee, her arm bent at an awkward angle. The other raiders begin to leap off the skiffs and move towards Adora, but Adora’s eyes flash as she snaps her head up to look at them. They pause, and Adora raises her free arm. 

“For the Honor…” ( _I love this_ ), “Of GREYSKULL!!” 

There’s a flash of light, and She Ra stands tall above the now silent field. The snake woman blanches, her hand still held in She Ra’s now much larger one. In one smooth motion, Adora swings the lizard woman around, sending her skidding behind her, and swings her blade through the air in front of her, creating an arc of energy that blasts out in a cone, knocking the front line of bandits down and causing the first two skiffs to overload and crumple to the ground, sparking. 

Everyone pauses, unsure of what to do. Then, the bandits get to their feet and let out battle cries. _‘Wrong answer.’_ Catra smirks, and the battlefield springs into action. 

The leader pulls out a knife and lunges towards She Ra’s back, but Catra conjures her magic whip and wraps it around the serpent woman’s wrist, yanking on it and pulling her over, where Catra lays her out with a punch.

She Ra is moving through the enemies like a breeze, each movement knocks another raider down. Their initial “mob with greater numbers” approach fails within seconds, and they quickly back up and start darting in with hit and run attacks. Two of them pull out old Horde energy lassos and toss them towards She Ra. Remembering the Battle of Bright Moon, Catra breathes a sigh of relief when Adora bats them aside. 

Kyle and Hergus are firing down long range blasts from their stun batons, keeping the crowd of bandits on their toes. Rogelio lunges in and engages two of them in a grapple. 

With the main crowd under control, Catra looks past them to the remaining three skiffs. One of them has unloaded its passengers and backed away, clearly waiting as a getaway vehicle, but the other two are beginning a flanking maneuver. Catra turns into the alley and dashes through, racing from building to building until she emerges, right as the skiff rounds the corner. Tensing, she leaps up onto it, landing on one bandit’s chest, heaving her body weight around and launching him off the vehicle. Turning, she sees the remaining four passengers ready weapons. She notices an unusual number of them are wielding somewhat battered Horde weaponry. A beefy man lunges with a mace, but she ducks under his blow, grabbing his ankle and sending him cartwheeling off the front of the skiff. Another swings a stun baton at her while her partner tries to grab Catra with a lasso, but Catra dodges both strikes, causing the charged up baton to strike the lasso and send a pulse of energy into the wielder, who shouts in shock. Catra swings up, her foot colliding with the face of the first serpent woman, then vaulting over her to bring both fists down on the head of the one wielding the lasso. Somersaulting over that one, she grabs the final combatant by the shoulders and digs her claws in, then curls her body inward to deliver a brutal double kick to his stomach. He groans and doubles over, and she tosses him off the side, then delivers a swift punch to the throat of the skiff’s pilot, and grabs onto the rudder without missing a beat. 

She accelerates, bringing the skiff back around to the main road. She catches the tail end of the battle there. Many bandits are knocked out or wrapped in Bow’s nets, and the remaining ones have piled onto the last two skiffs and are hightailing their way back across the desert. 

Adora turns to Lonnie and says, “Alright. Let’s make a plan.”


	4. Game Plan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After driving off one attack from bandits, Lonnie, Kyle, Rogelio, and the Best Friends Squad plan their next move.

#### Lonnie

_Okay. So She Ra got an upgrade and that Arrow guy is pretty useful. And Catra’s with them now. Ugh. That doesn’t change everything Catra did! She should be in prison!_

_… So should I though._

_No. That’s different. I’m helping people now._

_So is she though._

Lonnie groans and brings her head down to her desk. She looks up in time for the door to open and everyone to file in. Adora sits down in the chair on the opposite side of the desk, and Catra leans on her shoulder. Kyle walks over and sits on a stool beside Lonnie, looking anxiously between her and Catra. 

“So,” Lonnie begins, “It’s been a while. Last time I saw you we were fighting.” She says to Adora. 

Adora nods, “I know, but the Horde is gone now, and it seems like you’re doing the right thing, so we shouldn’t have any reason to fight anymore.” 

“Um, what about you?” Lonnie says indignantly, “You turned on us, left without a word, and then showed up as some eight foot tall princess tearing apart our armies! After everything you went through, you joined with the _princesses_. Why should we trust you?” 

“The princesses are the good guys!” Adora responds, her voice high. 

Bow adds on from the corner of the room, “I know the Horde told you a lot of awful things about the princesses, but you’ve gotta know they’re not true, right?” 

“You left the Horde,” Adora says, “I thought you’d have realized they were evil.” 

“We left,” Lonnie says, “Because we realized _she_ was evil.” She jabs a finger towards Catra, “When are you gonna work that one out?”

Before Adora can pipe up, Catra blurts out, “I’m sorry, okay?!” 

Lonnie’s eyes widen. She wasn’t expecting that one. ‘ _Catra never apologizes. Not for real._ ’

Catra breathes in nervously, and Adora reaches up and gently holds her hand. _‘Wait, what?_ ’ Catra looks at Lonnie and Kyle, “I know I was… awful to you, and not just you but- everyone in the Horde. I was obsessed with the idea of winning and I forgot what that really meant. I thought that the mission was all that mattered but I was wrong. I’m sorry for the way I treated you.” She pauses, and her expression changes. She focuses the next words on Lonnie exclusively, “But come on. It’s not like you were ever good to me. I mean you were awful to me until I got promoted above you. Remember what you told me after Adora left? Because I do. ‘Careful Catra, Adora can’t protect you anymore.’” Catra imitates Lonnie, who is struck by that. ‘ _Did I really say that?_ ’ 

“So what?” She says aloud, “That doesn’t excuse anything you did!” 

“I know!” Catra shoots back, “But I apologized! And I spend every day living with and trying to fix my mistakes. I grew up! When will you?” 

The room is silent for a moment as the two women stare at each other. Eventually, Adora breaks the silence. “This isn’t important right now. What we need to do is come up with a plan. Catra, Melog, Bow, and I are going to track those skiffs. Those bandits had a lot of Horde tech, so we should find their home base and get a more complete layout of what they have. That way, we can plan for a counterattack.” 

“Didn’t we scare them off?” Kyle asks tentatively. 

“No.” Bow says grimly, “We gave them a challenge.” 

Catra nods, “I’ve dealt with Tung Lashor before,” She can’t resist saying his name in a mocking tone, “Guy’s tough, and he doesn’t know how to quit when he’s ahead. He’s gonna try to hit us harder. Prove how strong he is.” 

Lonnie says, “Well what are we supposed to do while you’re out scouting? And how do we know that you won’t up and leave?” 

“You know we won’t leave because you’ve fought us enough times to remember that we don’t give up on people who need us.” Bow responds. 

“As for what you’ll be doing,” Adora says, “You’ll be getting the town ready for war. I don’t know what kind of weapons the citizens have but we’ll need everyone to be ready. Get anything that could be used as a weapon ready.” 

Lonnie nods. “The people don’t really have weapons, but I can think of a few ways they can help.” She thinks for a moment, then adds, “One more thing. If you’re going on a scouting mission, you’re gonna want to take Imp.” 

“Imp?” Bow asks, confused.

From the rafters above them, his voice is mimicked, “Imp?” Everyone looks up to see the little flying devil baby, it’s mouth open and replaying, “Imp? Imp? Imp?” The little guy hops down onto the desk. Catra narrows her eyes at him. 

“Hate that thing.” She murmurs. 

“Understandable,” Lonnie says, ignoring the scandalized look she gets from Kyle, “but he is good at picking up information.”

“He is our _baby_.” Kyle says, affronted, hugging Imp tight despite the spy’s protests.

Adora nods. “Alright. We should get going before their trail gets cold.” 

Lonnie raises a hand. “One more thing.” She points to Catra and Adora, “Are you two together now?” 

Adora and Catra look at each other and blush. “Yes.” Adora says. “Yes we are.” 

“Awwwwe!” Kyle says, at the same time Lonnie says, “Frickin finally! Ugh! You guys were insufferable when you were cadets!” 

“Heyyyy,” Adora objects, but Catra simply busts out laughing. _Probably could have avoided all of this if you two had just kissed then._

Bow rolls his eyes, “They can be insufferable now, too.” He says conspiratorially.

Adora looks at him and whispers, “How could you? I thought we were friends.” 

Lonnie chuckles. “Alright. Let’s get going.” Everyone files out of her office except Kyle. 

“So,” He asks, “Are you… okay? With them?” 

“No.” She responds flatly, “But I’m not gonna turn away free help. We need it.” 

Kyle nods, then leans down and hugs her. His expression is understanding, but sad. 

_‘He wants everything to be happy, just like to “good old days”.’_ Lonnie sighs as he leaves. ‘ _I don’t know if I’m ready for that.’_


	5. Before the Storm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Best Friends Squad goes on a scouting mission to the enemy camp while Lonnie, Kyle, and Rogelio rally the townsfolk

#### Catra

Bow’s tracker pad is full of some of the most ridiculous yet oddly useful features. They managed to track the skiffs because his pad is able to pick up the remnants of their unique exhaust lingering in the air behind them. 

The trail has led them to a large rock formation on the edge of the Crimson Waste. Something about the place is so distantly familiar to Catra, but it’s only once they set up on a secluded ridge overlooking the site that she realizes why. 

“It’s an old Horde outpost…” She mutters. Emphasis on the _old_ , the place uses architecture and layouts from Hordak’s earliest conquests. There’s a large bay where the skiffs are docked, though the roof is missing, and a large barracks that bandits are wandering in and out of. 

Bow has a pair of binoculars that he’s looking through. “They’re moving around too much to get a good count,” He says, “But I’d say there’s a few dozen bandits at least.”

He passes the binoculars to Adora, who focuses on the vehicle bay. “They’ve got five real Horde skiffs, plus 5 more, uh… makeshift skiffs. Looks like they’ve got some, like… platforms off to the side. I think they might tie those to the back of the skiffs to give more room.” Catra almost shudders thinking of how easily a platform like that could capsize or go flying given the fragility and maneuverability of the skiffs. “There’s something else… oh no.” Adora lowers the binoculars in shock, then quickly raises them and takes a closer look. 

“What? What is it?” Catra asks, a little panicked. 

“They have a tank.” Adora says quietly. “One of the old ones too.” 

Catra feels a nugget of dread settle in her stomach. Old Horde tanks, the ones from Hordak’s earliest conquests, were infamous among the veterans. They were said to be tough to maintain, expensive to make, terribly inefficient to operate… and nigh indestructible, with more firepower than any other machine the Horde made before Entrapta came along.

“And it looks like they’ve got some guys working on a bot too.” Adora hands Catra the binoculars, and points to a shaded spot on the side of the vehicle bay. There, partially obscured by a canvas, Catra can see several engineer types working feverishly on what looks like a heavy assault bot. 

“How did these thugs get this kind of firepower?” Catra muses.

“I’m guessing this outpost was abandoned towards the end of the war, and they found it sometime afterwards.” Bow responds.

Catra thinks back, and realizes why this outpost is familiar. She had ordered it be abandoned so its troops and munitions could go towards that final, disastrous campaign. She groans and puts her head in her hands, muttering, “Great. Of course it’s my fault.” 

Adora rubs Catra’s back. “It’s not your fault. It’s theirs. They’re the ones who chose to use that tech to attack innocent people.” 

“So did I.” 

“That’s the past. They’re the bad guys now.” Catra looks at Adora and meets the blonde’s smile. She can’t resist lunging in for a quick kiss. Adora blushes, then slides down the hill a bit. Bow and Catra join. The three are invisible of course, courtesy of Melog, but they still want better cover. 

“Okay.” Adora says quietly. “They’d definitely recognize Bow, from his transmission, and a lot of them probably remember Catra, so I’ll go down alone. I won’t get too far in, just find a secluded spot, locate their HQ, and send in Imp to figure out what their plan is.” 

“I don’t like you going down there alone.” Catra returns, and Melog meows. “Yeah, Melog’ll go with you.” 

Adora nods. “Alright, but don’t cloak me.” Melog and Catra simultaneously cock their heads in confusion. “If they think I’m one of them, and I get spotted, it’ll cause less disruption than if the cloak drops and there’s suddenly a stranger in their camp.” She leans up and kisses Catra again, “I’ll be fine.” She then looks to where the winged baby is watching the conversation. “Ready Imp?” 

He opens his mouth and replays, “Ready Imp?” He nods, and flutters up to perch on Melog’s back.

Catra climbs back up to the top of the ridge and watches their descent down. At a certain point, Melog vanishes, and Adora walks into camp. She’s wearing a poncho, so she doesn’t stand out too much. Catra sees her briefly converse with another guard and starts to sweat. ‘ _Don’t try to blend in, Adora. Don’t try to lie.’_ Fortunately, the conversation is brief, and Adora moves on, skirting the edge of camp until she comes to the edge of a smaller building that looks like a standard Command Post. She settles down, and Imp appears, climbing into an outside vent. 

The waiting begins, and lasts what feels like an hour before Imp re-emerges and quickly vanishes. Adora vanishes as well, and Catra puts down the binoculars and waits for them to return.

#### Adora

The poncho is hot, and Adora knows her sun hat will make her a target, but if something happens, she needs to be able to see properly, so the wide brimmed straw hat stays on. She’s conscious of Melog’s presence beside her, and as they approach the camp, she wishes she had just let them cloak her. _It’s for the best._

“Hey!” Comes the scratchy voice of a guard. Adora stops and turns to look at the thin snake person approaching her, their eyes narrowed. “Where have you been.” 

Adora’s heart stops. _Come up with a lie, quick!_ “Fell off the skiff.” She says, “Had to walk here.”

The guard looks at her for a second, then giggles. “Ha. Well don’t rest too much. We’re about to move out again.” They cock their head into camp. “Go get your orders.” 

Adora chuckles nervously and walks past. _I just lied! I acted for real! Catra’s rubbing off on me._

_Hey, that’s mean._

_I’m sorry. Wait. Why am I apologizing to myself?_

Adora shakes her head, and walks over to the edge of camp, an area where crates and tents are bunched together. _‘They’ve got a hell of an operation here.’_ She thinks, _‘And that guard was talking like a Horde officer. They’re really well set up.’_ She kneels down behind a crate, looking up at an old Horde building, familiar to her as the standard command post. ‘ _Hopefully they know that, so I don’t have to spend any more time here.’_ She turns. “Imp?” She whispers. 

The little creature appears, fluttering to the ground and looking up expectantly. “Alright.” She says quietly. “There’s a grate up there, see it? I need you to climb into the vents and find out if people are planning in there, if they are, record what you hear, okay? Just like you did for Hordak.” She’s speaking slowly, unsure of Imp’s intelligence. At the name ‘Hordak’, he perks up, and nods enthusiastically, then chitters and flies up to the grate. Adora quickly summons her sword as a lasso, wraps around the grate, and wrenches it off. It comes off without much noise, and she lunges in and catches it silently. Imp climbs into the vents, and the waiting begins. 

After about ten minutes, Imp re-emerges. 

“You got it?” She asks quietly and excitedly.

Imp opens its mouth, and plays a recording of a gravelly voice saying, “After the first wave’s done, the tank will move in and take down She Ra.” Adora quickly shushes the creature. 

“Alright. Let’s go.” She feels Melog’s invisibility cloak fall over her and Imp, and she makes a beeline out of the camp.

#### Kyle

“There are only three of them?” “What do you mean we have to learn to fight?” “I thought we called these people to protect us, now you’re saying they’re going to attack our homes?” “How do we know these princesses won’t betray us?” 

Kyle looks helplessly over at Lonnie, who is pinching the bridge of her nose in exasperation at the complaints of the crowd. They had called a town meeting to inform everyone of the plan, but the townsfolk are not pleased. They’re getting louder, in fact. Lonnie nods to Rogelio, who stands to his full height and lets out a ferocious roar that brings quiet to the assembly. 

“Look,” Lonnie begins, “We don’t like this situation any more than you do, but we’re doing our best. We can’t protect you with what we’ve got. You need to do something to protect yourselves.” 

“Yeah,” Kyle adds, turning to the crowd, ignoring Lonnie’s growled “Kylllle…”. He speaks to the people, saying, “We’re not asking you to get out on the front lines. Stay in your houses. You don’t have to learn to fight, but if a bandit passes under your window, drop something heavy on them! Trust me. I know what it’s like to go into a battle you don’t want to be a part of. I was never cut out to be a soldier, but that’s what I had to be if I wanted to help my friends. So if you want to help your friends, and help us save our town, you don’t have to do much. Just… do what you can.” He looks at the crowd pleadingly, and one by one they begin to mutter their assent. 

One older man steps forward. “Thank you for stepping up and helping us.” He says to all three former Horde soldiers. 

“You’re welcome.” Kyle responds. He looks up at Lonnie and smiles proudly. She is staring at him flabbergasted by his speech. 

The door opens, and the crowd parts to reveal a grim faced Adora. “We’ve got our intel.” She says.

#### Catra

Everyone is gathered around a map of the town placed on a large table in the saloon. Adora, Bow, Catra, Lonnie, Kyle, and Rogelio, plus Hergus and an older, well muscled and scarred man from the town named Regis. Regis is the leader of a group of townsfolk who volunteered to fight for real, instead of just hiding and helping when they can.

Imp is sitting on the table, having replayed what he heard of the enemy’s plan. They’re going to send the tank down the main road and blast everything they can, and the main force of bandits are going to follow on foot. Five of their skiffs are going to surround the town and patrol the outskirts to prevent escape, and their assault bot is going to attempt to take the ridge and bombard the town from above. 

“We do have advantages.” Adora begins. “They have a lot of vehicles, but their numbers are going to be spread pretty thin. They also don’t have full knowledge of our capabilities. So. Each person is going to have an important mission. Bow will be in the bell tower. It’s the best vantage point of the town and he’ll have line of sight to pretty much everything. Lonnie and Rogelio will destroy that bot before it gets to the ridge. After that, you’ll run interference on the bandit’s skiffs. I’ll take the tank. I’ll draw it down the main street to the back of the town, where I can take it out with less collateral damage. Regis and the rest of the volunteers will be running hit-and-run attacks, with Melog there to keep them hidden. Stick to the shadows and pick off the bandits on the edges of their ranks, or draw them towards the buildings so the rest of the villagers can help from the safety of their homes.”

“What about me?” Kyle asks tentatively. 

Catra speaks up, pointing to the main thoroughfare. “You’re with me. Once Adora draws the tank away, Tung Lashor is gonna be leading his footsoldiers. I’ll get him to face me one on one. We’ve got some history, and I’ll bet he’s just itching for a rematch.” 

“Uh, if it’s one on one, what do you need me for?” 

Catra cringes a little at the memory. “Last time I… used some underhanded tactics to win. I wouldn’t be surprised if he tries to cheat to beat me. That’s what I need you for. Bow’s gonna be busy, which, unfortunately, means you’re the best shot. I need you to keep an eye out for any funny business, any tricks or outside interference, and take it out. I’m kinda putting my life in your hands, so don’t screw this up.” Kyle gulps in response. 

“Once we’ve taken out their heavy weapons, the bandits will cut and run.” Adora says. “And this will finally be over.”

#### Lonnie

“Alright.” Lonnie stands on a box to make up for her lack of height compared to everyone else present. “We all know our positions, and we know what we’re fighting for. Move out.” Everyone nods, and files out of the station. Catra lingers at the door, and looks like she’s about to say something, only to leave instead. _‘Good. I don’t want to talk to her.’_

“You up to this?” The voice startles Lonnie, who nearly falls off the box. She hadn’t realized Regis was still in the room. 

“What??” She says.

“I asked if you’re sure you’re up to this.” Regis repeats. “You don’t have to go out there. None of you have to risk yourselves for us.” 

“They may not,” Lonnie argues, “But Mudd’s my home now too. I’ll do whatever it takes to keep it safe.” 

“Even fight side by side with your old enemies?” Regis asks, “I know some of the stories. If it comes down to you, are you gonna choose to save She Ra? Or Bow? Or Catra?” 

Lonnie opens her mouth to speak, but can’t find the words. Eventually she settles on, “They’re all more capable than me. And I’ll be on the other side of the battlefield.” 

Regis raises his eyebrows and nods thoughtfully. “True enough.” He stands from his chair. “You’re a good woman Marshal Lonnie. It warms my heart to see that the Horde didn’t ruin you.” 

He starts to leave, but Lonnie speaks up. “You were the old marshal.” She says, “And you talk like you’re ex-Horde.” Regis turns and nods with a rueful smile. “So,” She pauses, “What’s in this for you? Why volunteer to fight again?” 

“Because,” Regis says with a sigh through his nose, “If I didn’t do it, who would? Rest of them only volunteered once I did. They look up to me. And one day they’ll look up to you too.” He grabs his hat from the rack by the door and puts it on, then opens the door. “Chances are they’ll look up to you after you save them all today.” He steps out.

 _”If I didn’t, who would?_ ” The words ring in Lonnie’s head just as the alarm bell sounds, indicating that they’re on their way.


	6. The Final Battle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tung Lashor's army arrives, and the battle for Mudd begins

#### Rogelio

They are coming. The smoke plume on the horizon grows larger. Rogelio checks the sent of the air. It stinks of the snakemen. He growls, low in his chest. Looking to Lonnie, he cocks his head. It is time to get in position. Reluctantly, she follows him to the ridge on the side of town. There is an abandoned farmhouse there that they take up positions in, ready to ambush the horde bot. Rogelio is strangely excited. It has been a long time since he has been in a true battle, even though the odds are against him this time. He worries about Kyle, as he always does, but he takes solace in knowing that they have the She Ra on their side this time. 

“You alright?” Lonnie asks quietly. Rogelio growls in the affirmative, and returns the question. Lonnie and Kyle don’t fully understand his speech, though they’ve gotten better at reading his tone and body language to estimate his words. “Yeah. I hope we aren’t making a mistake.” She mutters. Rogelio cocks his head and murmurs a question. “Trusting Catra.” Lonnie explains, “She seems better but… I dunno. Not like she’s ever exactly been a team player, ya know?” 

Rogelio knows that Lonnie must sort through this conflict on her own, so he simply places a hand on her shoulder and nods his support. 

“Thanks.” She says, and the two settle in and wait for their target to arrive.

#### Bow

The first wave of skiffs arrive, the five ramshackle ones, towing extra platforms behind them. They unload their troops, whooping war cries and screams. Many of them are brandishing Horde laser batons, sending out blasts of energy almost at random. Bow begins taking his shots. A smoke arrow engulfs one flank of the oncoming force in thick fog, and three bandits fall wrapped in nets. He ducks under the bannister as the mob returns fire, one laser blast singing his hair. He pops back up and fires an explosive arrow at one of the parked skiffs. It hits the exposed fuel tank, and sets off a massive explosion that rips through the adjacent skiff as well. 

Adora slams into the enemy like a tornado, sending men and women flying with every swing. Her power radiates off her in waves of multicolored light, and even the strongest combatants the bandits have can only slow her down for a few seconds. 

The enemies are scattering. Some of them are rushing into buildings, others are running down alleys and causing destruction and chaos. Bow watches a fireball erupt from within one house, the people within rapidly emerge, screaming. The bandits move towards them, but Regis’s task force breaks cover to protect them. Bow scans the nearby streets, and behind the bell tower, he sees someone cowering behind a crate. 

_Is that…? Oh no._

Bow sprints down the spiral staircase of the tower and rushes down the narrow street, skidding around the corner and ducking behind a crate as he shouts, “Kyle!!” 

“Ah!” The blond jumps, and points his baton at Bow for a moment before recognizing him. “Oh! Hi Bow, what are you doing here??” He says nervously. 

“What are you doing here?” Bow says, more quietly now but equally angry. The sounds of battle are all around them, but they seem to be in a safe area. “You’re supposed to be out there, giving cover fire and backing up Catra.

“Oh come on,” Kyle says, “I’m not a fighter. I ran as soon as they started attacking! Catra’s better off without me. Everyone’s better off without me! I’m…” He sighs, and raises his knees to his chest. “I’ve… always been a failure. I can’t fight, I can’t lead, I can’t follow… I just… I mess everything up. It’s better if I just stay out of the way.” Kyle looks up at Bow, his eyes watery, “I’m a coward.”

Bow is silent for a moment, thinking, then he speaks. Not in an urgent town, but in a low, understanding one. “Me too.” 

“What??” Kyle almost laughs, “You? You’re a Rebellion hero! You fought the Horde without fear for so long! You… you got captured and imprisoned in the Fright Zone. I remember! You weren’t scared then! You just wanted to help your friend…” Kyle speaks more slowly at the last part, and retracts into himself again. “I’m not like that. I can’t help anyone.” 

“You’re right.” Bow says, Kyle looks back up at him confused. “I’m not afraid of fighting. I’ve always wanted to be a fighter, to be a hero. That’s what I was made for. I’m a coward because…” He sighs. “I lied to my family about who I was for years because I was too scared that the truth would hurt them. Heroes can be cowards too.” 

Kyle doesn’t respond, and Bow says, “And if nothing else, think about this: Catra trusts you. She chose you for this. And I’ve learned to trust Catra’s judgement. If she thinks you’re a good enough shot to make it work, I think you’re a good enough sshot to make it work. You don’t have to be the best soldier to be important. You don’t have to be a hero to save the day! All you have to do is be good _enough._ ” Bow stands up. “Now. I have to get back to my post. You can stay here if you want. I don’t think any of us would judge you. Frankly most of us probably want to be back here too. But we’re not. And now, you get to choose what you’re going to do.” Bow turns, then remembers a quote, “Courage isn’t the absence of fear. It’s acting in spite of it.” With that, he rushes back into the bell tower.

Once he’s at the top, he gets a full view of the town. Kyle is rushing back to his spot, and Bow smiles proudly. 

The first wave of bandits has been beaten back, but the second wave has arrived. Five proper Horde skiffs, in formation surrounding a massive tank, with a four legged bot strutting behind. The skiffs break off, three going to one side of the town, two going to the other. Following the two is the heavy assault bot, a massive platform with laser cannons mounted on top. The bandits seem to have added missiles too. ‘ _Where did these thugs get all this tech??’_ Bow fires an electricity arrow that thunks into its armor and stuns it for a moment, but it continues marching. Looking back, he can see the tank, and the second wave of infantry moving behind it. 

He ducks another laser blast, and surveys the fighting in the thoroughfare. She Ra is cutting through the enemy ranks, sending wave of bandits flying with each swing, but they’re fighting more tactically this time, encircling her with bandits wielding Horde shields and poking at her with long lances, while those on the outside pepper her with stun blasts and attempt to tie her down with lassos. It was the sort of tactic that would have slowed her down in her old form. 

But Adora is more powerful now. She revs up her blade and slams it into the ground, sending out a golden shockwave that wrecks the street and knocks almost the entire first wave down. There’s a moment of stillness, before the tank unloads its first shot. Not at She Ra, but at the nearest building, which detonates in a fireball. 

Bow takes a closer look at the tank. It’s larger than the tanks he’s used to fighting, more heavily armored, with a heavy wedge at the front. There’s a smaller turret with an exposed gunner on it that’s using some sort of mechanism to fire a steady stream of small metal projectiles towards Adora, who raises her shield and deflects a volley of the spheres with a series of _‘Ting’_ s. Adora unleashes a pulse of energy from her shield that washes over the tank, then she turns and leaps across town with a single bound, landing at the end of the main street and giving a ‘come at me’ gesture towards the tank, which seems happy to oblige. The massive piece of machinery moves down the main street as fast as possible towards its quarry. 

Bow looks down and sees the remaining members of the first wave have fallen back to bolster the second mob, which is being led by what he assumes to be Tung Lashor- a massive snake man with a broad chest, huge arms, a sleeveless leather jacket, and red and black scales. On one arm he has a horde buckler and is holding a whip, and on the other arm he has a cannon. It looks like it was taken from a galactic horde bot and retrofitted into an arm mounted weapon, which he raises and fires, raking it across the buildings on the right side of the street. 

“Come on out!!!” He bellows, “Now that your princess is occupied, I wanna see what this town has to offer!” He lets out a bellowing laugh. Bow looks down and sees in the alleyway beside the tower, Catra starts to step out.

#### Lonnie

Lonnie looks out the cracked door. Two Horde skiffs float by, with bandits on them hooting and jeering at the town, firing random blasts and arrows into the nearby buildings. She pumps her fist in pride when she sees a metal plate come spinning out of one of the buildings, beaning a bandit right in the head and sending him flying off the skiff. His fellows laugh at him and fly away as he grimaces and rushes towards that building. 

Lonnie moves to run out and stop him, but the sound of mechanical stomping stills her. She turns towards Rogelio and nods. The bot stalks forward, and past their building, breaking off from the path of the skiffs and moving towards the ridge. Once it passes them, Lonnie and Rogelio dart out from cover. Lonnie ducks behind a low wall, and Rogelio pulls out his quarterstaff. 

She fires a quick blast from her baton, striking at the joint of the back leg, at the same time Rogelio slams its foot with his quarterstaff. 

The bot staggers, and its armament platform rotates around. Two barrels glow, and Lonnie rolls to the side as lasers pulverise the spot she was just standing. Rogelio darts to another leg and leaps up, jabbing the pointed end of his staff into a gear, which sparks and smokes. The bot flicks that leg up, sending Rogelio sprawling, his staff still stuck in the bot’s joint. 

Lonnie dives forward, avoiding another blast and sending a few stun blasts of her own up at the thing’s eye. They miss, washing over its armor, and it slams its leg down in front of her, narrowly missing and sending her staggering backwards. Another laser blast comes towards her. She raises her shield just in time. The shield shatters on her arm and she falls back. 

Rogelio roars back into action, climbing up the bot’s leg and jumping onto its top platform. He grabs one of its laser cannons and rips it free, tossing it down. He moves towards the eye, but the bot swings one of its missile tubes like a club to knock him off. He hits the ground hard and skids several feet, slamming his head into the nearby wall. 

Lonnie springs to her feet to check on him, but stops when she sees the bot turn towards her. _Draw it away from the wounded._ She rushes towards the farmhouse, but the bot slams down a foot to block her escape. She looks up at it. The two missile tubes focus on her, and fire. One tube shorts out with a series of sparks, but the other narrowly misses her, the explosion sending her flying forward and up, smacking into the rounded bottom of the bot’s chassis. Thinking quickly, Lonnie grabs the lip of the firing platform and hoists herself up. Pulling up her baton, she smashes the bot’s eye and unloads several blasts into its insides. It shudders, sparks and electricity flying everywhere. Leaving her baton, she leaps off and rolls to safety as the bot explodes. 

“Ha! Take that!” She laughs, “Overgrown training bot!” She turns to look at Rogelio, who is still slumped over. “Rogelio??” She immediately forgets her pride and rushes over to the lizardman. 

Rolling him over, he groans, and growls a thanks. He rubs his head and practically mewls in complaint. “You okay?” She asks, and he nods in the affirmative, getting to his feet with her help. “Well good,” She says, looking over his shoulder, “Cuz we got company.” He turns, and snarls at the approaching skiff.


	7. Showdowns

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Catra vs Tung Lashor. She Ra vs Tank

#### Catra

“Come on out!!!” Tung Lashor bellows, “Now that your princess is occupied, I wanna see what this town has to offer!” He laughs his stupid laugh. 

“Really? I’m much more interesting.” Catra shouts. 

Tung Lashor turns to her and gasps in recognition. “You!!” He swings his arm up, pointing a white arm cannon at her. Catra raises a stun baton in response.

“You willing to bet your life that you shoot first?” She calls out, “Cause I’m willing to bet mine that I can dodge your little pea shooter.” 

Tung Lashor grimaces. His hand tenses on the firing mechanism. “You and I have unfinished business!” He growls.

“Do you really want to finish it like this?” Catra responds, “Or do you just not think you could take me in a real fight?” 

There are scattered “Ooooh”s among the assembled bandits. 

“Shut up!” Tung Lashor bellows, “I’m the strongest in the Crimson Waste! You cheated last time! That’s the only way you won! But you don’t have any quicksand here!” 

“No I don’t.” Catra takes a step forward, “So you wanna put that down and fight me for real?” 

There’s a tense moment of silence as both combatants stare each other down. The wind howls through an alleyway, sending a cloud of dust up between them. Catra fingers the firing button on her baton. Her eyes narrow. Tung Lashor hesitates, then swings his arm down and fires his laser into the ground and bellows. He tears his vest off and charges forward, unlimbering a massive bullwhip from his belt.

#### Adora

Adora ducks around the corner of a building as a shell flies from the tank and detonates some distance away. Rolling forward, she wrenches a portion of the wooden fence ahead from the ground and chucks it towards the tank. The fence shatters across the tank’s armor as Adora rushes forward. She raises the sword, and the bandit in the turret fires a shot that strikes her in the hand. 

“Ow!” Her sword vanishes as she rolls to the side, flexing her hand in pain. She looks up at the tank, narrows her eyes and shakes her head. “Oh it’s _on_.” 

She sprints to the side, the turret’s rapidly firing projectiles following her and kicking up dust. She dives through a nearby shop’s window and races up the stairs. The tank slams into the front of the building, demolishing the front wall with it’s wedge shaped front. Adora dives out the front window, landing on top of the tank. The gunner looks up in shock, “Woah!” 

She slams her foot into the turret, snapping off the barrel. “Jeez, lady!” He shouts. She raises a fist towards him, but looks up as the tank’s main gun slams into her stomach, picking her up and taking her for a ride as the tank backs away from the building and starts spinning that gun. 

“Hey princess!” The gunner says, hefting a grenade, “Catch!” Adora tenses, then flips up on top of the gun and swings her fist forward, punching the grenade back towards the gunner, who is sent flying out of the tank by the blast. 

She has no time to savor her victory before the tank fires a shot, the recoil sending her flying off onto the front of the vehicle. She slides down the wedge and staggers to her feet, only to see the massive vehicle surge forward. She catches it with her hands, and skids across the ground as it pushes her. She gasps in pain as it slams her into a wall. The gun slowly spins around towards her and lowers, the barrel glowing as it revs up a shot directly at her face. Adora desperately looks around, bracing for the end.

#### Lonnie

“HYAH!” Lonnie swings her foot into the skiff pilot’s face, sending her flying off the side. She grabs the rudder and steers it forward, accelerating into the back of the skiff in front of her. She tips the nose of her vehicle down until it scrapes against the hull of the other one, then yanks it upwards. The other skiff capsizes, sending the bandits on board sprawling. From a nearby house, villagers swarm out wielding pots and skillets and clubs and start clobbering the prone bandits. 

Lonnie swings her skiff around the back of the town, and sees it happen. She Ra, standing on top of the tank’s barrel, punching a grenade out of the air. _’Oh come on. Leave some cool for the rest of us Adora. Typical._ ’ Her brief fond smile vanishes at the tank fires, sending Adora sprawling. The massive vehicle bulldoses into her, smashing her against a wall. She Ra pushes, but the tank pushes harder. 

Lonnie looks around, hoping to see Catra or Bow coming to the rescue, but nothing happens. The tank revs up a shot. 

_“If it comes down to it, are you gonna choose to save She Ra?”_

_“If I didn’t, who would?”_

Lonnie grimaces and accelerates the skiff.

#### Adora

“Adora! Heads up!” Adora’s head snaps to the side just in time to see Lonnie leap off her skiff. The vehicle crashes into the back of the tank in a massive fireball. The barrel swings to the side and fires, missing its shot. “Ha!” Adora smiles, and her hands glow with energy. She swings both fists onto the front of the tank. There’s a shockwave as the vehicle skids back. She summons her sword and takes a running leap onto it, plunging the blade into its chassis and tearing a massive gash across it, finishing by swooping up and chopping off the cannon barrel. She leaps off, and the tank explodes behind her. 

She rushes over and helps the battered looking Lonnie to her feet. “Thanks!” She says brightly. 

“Don’t mention it.” Lonnie replies, lightly tapping Adora’s shoulder.

#### Catra

The whip smashes down right in front of Catra, kicking up a cloud of dust and debris and forcing her to leap backwards. Tung Lashor presses his offensive, swinging the bullwhip with vicious strength, leaving score marks across the street and nearby walls as Catra retreats.

Finally, she counterattacks. As he raises the whip over his head, she rapidly conjures a glyph that sends a blast of magical wind to smack Tung Lashor in the face. He staggers for a moment, and Catra darts forward. He gets his bearings right as she sprints to one side, running up a wall to gain the high ground, then slamming her fist into the side of his head. She grabs onto his shoulder and swings her knee into his gut, then hoists herself up and somersaults over his back. 

As she lands, she swings an open palm to claw his exposed back, but he spins, grabbing her wrist and cackling before Spinning around and hurling her into a nearby porch. She crashes through a wooden support beam and smashes a rocking chair. She lies there for a moment, dazed and hurt, but she comes to just in time to scramble out of the way of a whip blow that demolishes the remains of the chair. 

Sliding back into the main street, she carves the glyph to summon her magic energy whip. The orange line appears in her hand, and she swings out with a sideways lash. It cuts across Lashor’s stomach, leaving a visible wound. He shouts and looks down in shock, giving Catra the opportunity to wrap her whip around his foot and yank as hard as she can. 

He doesn’t fall, Catra’s not strong enough to fully overpower him, but his foot is yanked, leaving him flailing to maintain balance on one foot. Grinning, Catra pulls out her components and sends another blast of wind at his head that sends him tumbling head over heels down the street. 

“Awwwwee…” She calls out, “Big bad Tung Lashor can’t stay on his feet.” She strides towards him, swinging her whip out and smacking his hand as he tries to get up. “Go on, stay down. Stay in the dirt and slither away like a good little snake.” 

Tung Lashor struggles to his feet. His goons are closing in, forming a semicircle around the two combatants, who begin to circle each other. 

“Gotta say I am kind of impressed that you managed to claw your way back to the top of the food chain here.” Catra admits, “I mean, after I humiliated you, I didn’t think you’d have any chance of regaining power, but here you are. Ready to be humiliated again.” 

Tung Lashor is glaring at her, and Catra sees his eyes flick right over her shoulder for an instant before he bellows, “Not this time!” and charges forward.

#### Kyle

Kyle has a vantage point. He’s seen the whole fight. He was flabbergasted to see Catra doing magic, but he knows that he can’t mess this up. His eyes are scanning the crowd as they gather around the two rivals. Catra taunts Tung Lashor in her trademark fashion. Kyle keeps his eye on the bandits, and he sees something. One of them, a snake lady behind Catra, is pulling something from behind her back. Kyle takes aim. It’s not perfect. In this situation how could it be? There’s a big chance he could hit Catra at this angle. But he takes the best aim he can.

Everything is in slow motion. Catra ducks, ready to pounce. Tung Lashor is barreling forward, fists clenched and whip swinging into motion. The snake lady pulls out her secret weapon and uncorks it, preparing to dump the flask of cold water onto Catra’s back. A childish move, but one that could prove fatal in the situation. 

Kyle squeezes the trigger.

#### Catra

A beam of green energy streaks overhead. Catra and Tung Lashor both pause in their assaults for a fraction of a second as the beam strikes the thug behind Catra, sending her to the ground, dropping the flask that was in her hand, which begins leaking water onto the sand. 

Catra leaps into the air and grabs Tung Lashor’s head, hefting her body around his to pull him off balance. “Cute try!” She taunts as she lands on the ground behind him, “But no.” She brings her heel down with full force on his tail, eliciting a surprisingly high pitched squeal of pain. 

“That’s it!” He roars. He spins around, backhanding Catra hard enough to send her sprawling out of the square. She looks up, and yelps in alarm as he fires a blast from his arm cannon. She leaps out of the way, feeling the tip of her tail get singed. The next blast lands in front of her, causing her to spin back. 

Tung Lashor is advancing and cackling, firing blast after blast from his arm cannon. Catra turns and spins around, racing from building to building for cover. Her heart is racing, her mind flashing images of another massive tyrant, chasing her through the Fright Zone firing off beams of destructive red energy, each one nearly killing her. 

Catra ducks into an alley and claws her way up the side of the building in front of her as an explosion rocks the ground where she just was. 

“Awwww, what’s wrong kitty?” Tung Lashor bellows, still guffawing evilly, “Thought you’d bet your life you could dodge this!” Catra gets to the roof of the building and lays flat. “I’m gonna wear your fur like a coat when I’m done!” 

His laser rakes up the side of the building. Catra hears screams from inside. ‘ _No, nonono._ ’ She crawls to the edge of the roof, careful to stay hidden. ‘ _I’ve gotta end this before anyone gets hurt._ ’ She tenses her entire body, and springs off the roof. 

Tung Lashor gasps and looks up. He swings his cannon up, but not fast enough. Catra slams a fist into his face with all her might. Landing, she springes up on one leg, and brings her heel down on his cannon, shattering it. She spins around and roundhouse kicks him in the stomach before finishing with both fists uppercutting into his jaw. 

The warlord is laid low, spinning across the dirt until he comes to rest at the feet of his gang. 

“I thought… I told you!” Catra pants, stepping out of the smoldering wreckage of the building’s porch. “ _I’m_ the strongest… in the Crimson Waste!!” 

Half his gang backs up as he stands and glares at her. The other half starts to step away from their peers, chanting, “Catra! Catra! Catra!” 

Tung Lashor struggles to his feet. “This isn’t over.” He growls. He turns to his remaining bandits, “Finish the job!” The bandits surge forward as Tung Lashor pushes his way towards the back of the crowd. 

For a moment, fighting breaks out. The two factions of bandits start attacking each other. Items come flying out of windows as the townsfolk finally join the fray. Regis and his volunteers emerge from invisibility in an alleyway and crash into the bandit’s flank, with Melog at their side. 

It only lasts a few seconds though, before a massive wind blasts through the square, kicking up dust and knocking several people down. 

Catra squints down the street to see a nexus of multicolored light moving towards them. At the center of this beacon stands She Ra, powerful and beautiful. 

“Leave this town and never come back.” She commands, her voice almost reverberating with power. 

After a beat, The bandits turn and run. They pile onto the remaining skiffs and take off. From the lead skiff, Tung Lashor casts a terrified glance back, where She Ra now stands beside Catra. It looks like the snake man can’t tell which figure he fears more. 

Most of the bandits who turned on him slowly back up to the edge of town, but a few walk over to Regis’s volunteers, helping them to their feet. Catra sees the Horned Goon she dubbed “Kyle” grab the old man’s arm and help him up. 

Adora sighs, and smiles down at Catra. Catra grins up at her, and leaps up. Adora yelps, catching Catra, who wraps herself around She Ra’s torso and bombards her with a passionate kiss.


	8. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The town of Mudd is saved, and gathers to give their heroes a send off.

#### Lonnie

The battle is over. The bandits had fled, thanks to help from the princesses. Main street had been devastated, and they had stolen some more parts, but Lonnie is confident that their power is broken. 

“I guess all I can say,” She says to Adora, Bow, and Catra as they stand by their skiff, packed and ready to leave. She stands before a large assembly of townsfolk who have gathered to send their heroes off. “Is thank you. I never thought I’d see this day but… The Princess Alliance has a friend in us.” She puts a hand on her chest and bows. More quietly, she looks at Catra and says, “And… you were right. I’m sorry for the way I’ve treated you. I don’t know if I forgive you…” 

“You don’t have to.” Catra assures her.

“But it’s a good start.” Lonnie finishes. 

“I hope we see you again!” Kyle says from beside her. Rogelio roars in agreement, stepping forward and grabbing Adora and Catra in a bear hug worthy of Scorpia. 

He sets them down, and Adora smiles. “It may not be us, but the Princesses will always be here to help.” She steps up onto the skiff, Catra and Melog following suit. 

“Goodbye!” Bow calls out to the townsfolk, who all shout their goodbyes and thanks as the skiff takes off into the distance. 

Lonnie smiles after it, and Kyle and Rogelio take her hands. 

_Our home is safe again_. She turns and starts to walk into town with Kyle and Rogelio, only to pause. “One sec,” She says, extricating herself from her boys and walking over to Regis. 

The old man sustained some bad injuries during the fight. One leg is wrapped up and one arm is in a sling. He’s sitting in a wheelchair at the moment, and looks up and smiles at Lonnie. 

“Thank you.” Lonnie says. 

“I did what everyone else did.” Regis downplays humbly. “Nothin special about me.” 

“No, you did more than that.” Lonnie says, “You saved She Ra.” 

“Did I?” 

“The tank almost had her, but I remembered what you told me, and I decided to help.” 

“Huh. Heh.” He chuckles and raises an eyebrow. “Sounds to me like you saved She Ra. All I did was ask a question. Doesn’t give me the credit for your answer.” He reaches up and grasps Lonnie’s hand. “Now don’t you forget today. I’d say you’ve pretty well earned the respect of the people here.” 

Lonnie turns, and sees the whole town arrayed before her. A little girl walks up. “Thank you Missus Marshal.” She says, and wraps her arms around Lonnie’s leg. A chorus of thanks emerge from the crowd, and Lonnie smiles. 

_‘We’ve done real good here.’_ She thinks, looking at Kyle and Rogelio. _‘And we’ve got a lot more left to do.’_

Life in the Crimson Waste is hard. The people who live there have to be tough to survive. Most of the population is bandits and brigands and monsters. In the town of Mudd, though, the people can live fairly normal lives, protected as they are by the Princess Alliance. 

And their Marshal.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Comments are very much appreciated. If you enjoy this, check out the source, She Ra: After the End. It's a very ambitious longfic set up as the first of four more "seasons" taking place after the original show.


End file.
